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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28591632">(insert generic title here)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/commonghost/pseuds/pyrokinetic%20loser'>pyrokinetic loser (commonghost)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, also please note: bronte is not good at this, at all, but bronte is definitely underestimating the amount of help/support he can give, but that's really mildly implied, can you tell how much im projecting onto the both of them, i mean it ends well, implied past suicidal thoughts/ideation, no beta we die like emotionally vulnerable men, non-graphic suicidal thoughts/ideation</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 05:34:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,022</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28591632</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/commonghost/pseuds/pyrokinetic%20loser</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Councillor Bronte takes one look at the child that entered his classroom and gives up on his lesson plan for the day. Sophie Foster is, for lack of better words, a tired mess and a train wreck all wrapped in one.</p><p>He didn’t expect her to start crying, though.</p><p>-----</p><p>Basically: Sophie is not doing okay and Bronte is trying to support her as best he can while also having no clue what he’s doing and only working off past experience from when he was doing really bad and desperately hoping he’s doing the whole “comfort the people you care about” thing right. Sophie is crying for 99% of this. </p><p>This is, surprisingly, my most fluffy work so far.</p><p>Mind the warnings.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Councillor Bronte &amp; Sophie Foster (Keeper of the Lost Cities)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>(insert generic title here)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>someone on tumblr wanted me to put this here, so this is for you, anon!! you were very sweet, thank you ^^</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p></p><div class="">
  <p>Councillor Bronte takes one look at the child that entered his classroom and gives up on his lesson plan for the day. Sophie Foster is, for lack of better words, a tired mess and a train wreck all wrapped in one.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Bronte’s seen the all-too-familiar look present in her eyes <em>far</em> too many times before. The last time was when he was staring at a mirror, wondering whether or not giving up was the right option. So if Miss Foster was struggling with those thoughts as well, he couldn’t let her suffer like he had. Bronte most likely couldn’t do much, but he could at the very least ask if something was wrong or amiss.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>And, besides, the point of his lessons were to push her, not break her. So even if she said she was fine (which was, unfortunately, exactly what Bronte expected to happen) then he’d explain that she was in no state to go around inflicting pain on people.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He didn’t expect her to start crying, though.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Or for her to tell him that sometimes she thought of giving up, that it was getting tiring to get out of bed every morning, knowing that she or the people she cared for might be hurt.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I-I’m sorry, I don’t mean to cry or whine, I just-” Her sentence was broken by more sobs.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Bronte placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to steady her. He knew that it had helped him in the past, so it was worth a try, right? “Miss Foster?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Y-yeah?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Look at me.” Bronte waited until she was looking at him to continue, making sure to keep eye contact. He knew how easy it was to get lost in those feelings, how easy they trapped you and dragged you down. He wouldn’t let Sophie suffer for as long as he did. And she needed to come back to reality for that to work. “Unfortunately, I can’t really say much. But please believe me when I say I know how this feels. And please, <em>please</em>, tell someone who can...actually do something about this.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Bronte wasn’t an idiot. He knew that he would only have so much of an impact on Sophie, that no matter how much he wanted to, he wouldn’t be able to help her in the way she needed. But that didn’t mean he’d let her suffer.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He took a breath and then kept going. “I know what you’re going through, I know it hurts. But please know there’s light at the end of the tunnel. And I know it’s getting tiring to keep walking, but you have to remember you are not alone in this. That you have friends and family who will support you no matter what. So please, make <em>sure</em> to tell someone. Your parents, your friends, just make sure you have the support you need and <em>deserve</em>.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Sophie sobbed again. “I-the thing is, I- I know that-” her sobs and hitching breath kept interrupting her, making it almost impossible to finish her sentences. But Bronte wouldn’t push her. The last thing Sophie needed right now was for someone to start yelling. “I- I know that there are people out there- who- I mean- I know they love me and- and they’ll help me but I- I-I’m just so <em>tired</em> and-” She had to take deep breaths to calm herself down. “I- I <em>want</em> to keep going but sometimes it’s….”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Exhausting?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Yeah.” Sophie looked about ready to burst into tears again. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Bronte cursed his soft heart, mourned his reputation for just about half a second, and slowly hugged her. She deserved a hug, and she’d said in the past that this was how her friends comforted her, so there was no harm in trying, right? Bronte would be the first to admit he had <em>no</em> idea what he was doing, but he wanted to make sure Sophie knew he was there for her. That she was seen and that there <em>were</em> people supporting her, people who would fight by her side.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Fortunately, Sophie didn’t seem to mind as she all but sank into the hug, returning it while starting to sob again. Bronte didn’t bother trying to tell her not to cry. All that had done for him in the past was make it worse, and Sophie deserved to have a space where she didn’t have to worry about bottling her emotions.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I know it most likely means nothing, coming from me, but…” Bronte’s voice trailed off as he tried to find the right words. “I’m here for you, Miss Foster. And you can come to me for anything. As long as it isn’t <em>too</em> illegal.” Sophie chuckled through her tears at Bronte’s piss-poor attempt at humor. That was good, right? That meant he was going in the right direction?</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Bronte was once again struck with the realization of how out of his depth he was. The only times he had to deal with these kinds of struggles were on <em>his</em> bad days, and his own methods were…well, they were keeping him alive, so that was a start. But they were completely unfit to pass onto anyone else, so all Bronte had to go with was his own experience and the little he knew about the child sobbing in his arms.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>But Bronte wouldn’t sit back and let his student suffer. Not when he knew exactly how awful it could get. He might be too far gone himself, but, by whatever means possible, he wouldn’t allow the same to happen to Sophie.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Support was the <em>least</em> of what she deserved and it was all that Bronte could give. He still made her promise to tell someone about her struggles, but he had to trust that she’d be the one to act on it. (He knew that it wouldn’t go over well if he told someone <em>for</em> her. He had also been a tired, exhausted teenager once, and he knew she wouldn’t appreciate that kind of breach to her privacy.)</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>For now, all that he could do was be there and make sure that Sophie knew she could rely on him.</p>
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